UNICEF: Sanitation as a cornerstone of development.

NEW YORK, USA, 8 May 2008 -- Water and sanitation experts joined financing professionals at UNICEF House in New York yesterday to identify sustainable methods of providing clean water and safe sanitation to those who lack these basic rights.

Today, 2.6 billion people -- over 40 per cent of the world's population -- lack access to a safe toilet. It's a situation that endangers the health of millions and claims more young lives than any other disease save pneumonia. Moreover, insufficient sanitation hinders economic and social development and hurts the environment.

Sanitation advocates agree that efforts to address the problem lag behind most other development targets. That is why the declaration by the United Nations of 2008 as the International Year of Sanitation is so important.

To read the full story, visit: http://www.unicef.org/infobycountry/usa_43874.html

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